How many times have you picked your class up from lunch, recess, or specials and thought to yourself, “What is going on?” Your kids are loud, everyone’s pushing in line, and the complaints and tattling about what happened while they were out of the classroom are non stop. Forget about lining up in a straight, quiet line, you’re lucky if you make it back to your classroom before you completely lose it.
If this sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone! These 5 classroom management strategies will help you effectively transition your students back to the classroom and help them calm and reset themselves for a productive afternoon.
1. Have a class meeting
We all know how powerful morning meeting is in setting the tone for the day, but why does it have to be reserved for the morning? It doesn’t! Have a class meeting when your kids come back from lunch, recess, or specials to help them reset for the afternoon.
Start with a short game, activity, or song that eases students back into the classroom. Then allow students to share what they ate for lunch, who they played with at recess, or what they did in art, music, or PE. (Pro tip: Only let a few students share and have the rest point to their head and “hold it in their brain” to share with you at a later time like snack or pack up. This will keep students from feeling disappointed that they didn’t get a turn to share!)
2. Do a calming brain break
Your students’ energy will naturally be high when they come back from a less structured setting. If you immediately require your students to sit down so you can start your lesson, you’ll wind up constantly stopping to redirect them. Instead, put on a calming brain break to help your students bring their energy back down and get their bodies ready for an afternoon of learning.
3. Take deep breaths
In addition to calming brain breaks, leading students in deep breathing exercises will help them calm their nervous systems and regulate their bodies. Instead of just telling students to take deep breaths, lead them in some fun, kid-friendly breathing exercises. They’ll get all the benefits of deep breathing in a fun, engaging way!
4. Review the schedule for the rest of the day
Visual schedules are incredibly powerful for students because they allow them to see exactly what’s coming next in their day. When students come back from recess, lunch, or specials, take a few minutes to review what your schedule looks like for the rest of the day. This will help lower students’ anxiety because they know exactly what to expect, and will help reconnect students to the classroom activities.
5. Review classroom expectations
The expectations in less structured areas like the playground, the lunchroom, or specials classes are often very different from the expectations in your classroom. Even though you likely reviewed your classroom expectations in the morning when students arrived, it’s important to remember that students need multiple reminders throughout the day, especially after returning from another setting.
Take a few minutes when students return to the classroom to review classroom expectations so they know the exact behavior that you’re looking for now that they’re back in the classroom. This will help set students up for success for the rest of your day together. (Pro tip: don’t do all the work yourself! Have students review and model expectations for the class!)
Conclusion
It can feel like a never ending battle to get your students calm and ready for the rest of the day when they transition back to the classroom after lunch, recess, or specials, but it’s not impossible! By making just a few small changes, you can help your students be ready to learn for the rest of the day. Choose one of the 5 classroom management strategies outlined above to try in your classroom this week, and add in more as you feel ready!
